WGAW to honor David Chase

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David Chase, best known for creating HBO's "The Sopranos," will be honored with the WGA West's 2008 Paddy Chayefsky Laurel.

The lifetime achievement award is bestowed for outstanding work in television. Chase will be feted April 23 at the WGAW's honorary awards luncheon at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles.

"We had to give this award to David Chase following the remarkable run of 'The Sopranos,' " WGAW president Patric Verrone said. "Not doing so would be to deny him the closure that ..."

The truncated quote was a good-natured jibe over the controversy that ensued after Chase ended a six-year "Sopranos" run with an enigmatic series-finale episode. The episode's meaning became such a hot topic of debate among fans that it was spoofed by Hillary and Bill Clinton in a campaign ad last year.